If you buy this game, Skynet wins.

Terminator Salvation is a relaunch of the film franchise featuring Christian Bale's gravitas, amazing set pieces and slick camera work. The videogame version has none of these things. Christian Bale has been replaced by a non-descript actor, the action is fairly tame throughout and the cutscenes are stunningly ordinary. And yet despite the poor presentation, there are some clever gameplay elements that make Terminator enjoyable. Too bad that joy only lasts a handful of hours before the credits roll.

Taking place two years prior to the upcoming film, Terminator Salvation follows one day in the life of would-be savior of mankind John Connor. Los Angeles has been lost to the machines and the resistance is pulling back to regroup, but some of Connor's men have gotten themselves captured by Skynet. While the leaders of the resistance (Connor is still an up-and-coming punk) are willing to sacrifice the few for the good of the many, Connor goes rogue to save his buddies. And that is the entire plot of Terminator Salvation. There are no unexpected twists or insight into John Connor or the formation of the resistance. It's just an excuse to go from point A to B and fight many machines along the way. Not exactly the worst idea for a game, but it's certainly not very deep.Terminator Salvation seems, ironically enough, a victim of time. There just wasn't enough to create a full game. There are a few moments that lack any cinematic punch. For example, early on you battle an HK (big flying ship) from inside the ruins of a building. When you finally shoot it down, you're told it's crashing into the building. But there's no cutscene that shows this awesome moment and nothing visually spectacular happens in-game. It's a dud, and many more moments like this fall flat throughout the four-hour adventure.

Simply put, the presentation is shockingly poor. Bad acting, ugly cut-scenes, no Christian Bale, and a few story elements that are outright hilarious. The best and worst moments in Terminator Salvation are intertwined. The one shining cutscene (and coolest gameplay segment) is when the massive Harvester machine comes around scooping up humans. As I ran from this metal beast, I thought, "Damn, I can't wait to fight that thing later on." That leads to the worst moment in Terminator Salvation. Towards the end, one of your teammates warns, "The Harvester is still out there." Connor says not to worry, he'll handle it. The next scene shows Connor underneath a snoozing Harvester. With a few turns of a monkey wrench the Harvester is now yours to command. Wha??

Though there are definitely some rough elements to Terminator Salvation, the future isn't completely bleak. The gameplay is smartly crafted and often quite engaging. Salvation is a third-person cover shooter with skirmishes taking place in impromptu arenas throughout the ruins of L.A. Instead of worrying about progressing from cover to cover, moving from the back to the front, fights take place in 360 degrees. The machines are heavily armored and for most, you need to flank them to get at their weak spots. That's only possible by creating combat zones "in the round." Aiding this cover system is a radial menu that highlights a half-dozen angles you can take for cover. It's a great system and the one standout in an otherwise ho-hum movie-licensed game.

The enemy AI is tough and, I have to say, follows a logical attack pattern. The T-600s (humanoid terminators) go straight at you. They don't care about cover or flanking or protecting themselves -- they just walk forward and fire. The Spider is the most cautious, constantly realigning itself to keep its near-impervious frontside towards its attackers. Sometimes the Spider is too good (and too defensive), making it difficult to pull off flanking maneuvers. It seems more focused on you than your AI partners. This often turns you into the bait, leading the Spider to turn its back on your AI allies so they can destroy it. But your AI pals are sometimes total idiots and won't always take advantage of these moments.

Things are much better if you play cooperatively with a friend (best if both of you use Xbox 360 controllers). As long as your friend isn't an idiot, you'll have an easier time getting to the weak side of the machines. The bad news is that there is no online co-op. It's split-screen only. Like I said, this is a game that just didn't have enough time to be fully fleshed out.

If you're on the fence about Terminator Salvation (and I think it's decent enough to be so), know that this is a very short game. I beat it in under four hours. There is no exploration, no items to collect, no Achievements on PC. That should pretty much push you over to one side of that fence.

Closing Comments

The future isn't set. That means you still have time to cancel your preorder of Terminator Salvation. A harsh statement, certainly, but considering the latest in the man vs. machine saga can easily be completed in four hours, it's an accurate one. While Terminator Salvation has some good ideas and is fun at times, it lacks any replayability. And more importantly, it lacks the star of the film, which is a rather curious omission. Unfortunately, this isn't a Games for Windows title, so no Achievements can be earned. And that's the real draw of a game like Salvation.

Are you goal-oriented?

Whether by reading books, listening to music, playing games, or watching movies, people have always found ways to live out their fantasies and entertain their imaginations. Gaming's always been my choice medium for this, and it's because of games like EA's Sims life-simulation series. Unlike all that other stuff I mentioned, The Sims 3 allowed me to tell my own story and explore my own personality and desires in ways that no other media could. And, most importantly, I had a heckuva lot of fun doing it.

Allow me to elaborate with the brief story of my sim Chuf Money's life.

Chuf Money moved into a modestly decorated, prefabricated, one-bedroom home. His neurotic tendencies put him under a lot of stress, and his day job in politics certainly didn't help. Fortunately, he only had to play nice at the office long enough to pay his rent, so he could spend his off-time working up his guitar-playing skills. Eventually, he made more money from that than he did from his job, so he took the musical gig full-time. He eventually fulfilled his dream of becoming a music legend -- but never settled down, outliving his long-term girlfriend and watching her die before his very eyes. In his old age, he started avoiding the phone, since the only reason it rang was to let him know another one of his friends had died. Toward the end, he adopted a son -- if for nothing else than to have someone to keep his memory alive.

Chuf's story obviously doesn't reflect my own life, but I definitely created him as a character I could live vicariously through. He did things that I'd never do -- at one point, Chuf was so much of a player that he had multiple girlfriends at once -- and I actually became quite attached to him. I tried creating other families, but I was so engrossed with Chuf (and found it frustratingly hard to manage multiple Sims' wishes simultaneously) that I always wound up coming back to him. My time spent playing as Chuf was fulfilling and entertaining... and because of The Sims 3's array of customization options, I was really able to make my experience with the game my own.Sims 3 is exceedingly adaptable to any character you'd ever dream of making. Not only can you design a unique-looking Sim, but you can create personalities that actually make them unique. You pick five traits -- from a list of over 60 -- which form your Sim's personality and determine her or his Lifetime Wish. This overall goal includes such lofty ambitions as rock stardom, career criminalism, or even just becoming the most popular guy in town. It's something you certainly don't to follow, but it provides direction for those who want it, and also grants a constant sense of gratification as you come ever closer to fulfilling it.

Thankfully working toward your Lifetime Wish doesn't necessitate a one-track mind, as the game constantly doles out smaller, personality-driven tasks. For Chuf, these included "make the bed" or "earn a skill point in Guitar." Meeting these smaller goals rewards you with Lifetime Happiness, which you can spend on perks and abilities that make life easier (such as longer-lasting food, heightened attractiveness, and the power to throw awesome parties). I really loved this feature; it kept me engaged, and helped the daily grind of Sim life stay fresh. Also, it's an additional layer of customization with which to help your Sim fulfill their life's desires.

Beyond customizing Sims' appearance, personality, and life goals, creative players with a desire to craft custom environments get an easy-to-use editor. Inspired players can create houses as realistic (or as fantastic) as they can afford with the allotted budget, tweaking a piece of property all the way down to the depth of the dirt itself. You can also customize your neighborhood's layout, moving properties and families to different areas on a whim. The range of options is actually pretty intimidating to me, but players who live for this sort of thing get a pretty awesome toolset to work with.

And while fake lives and urban planning can keep me busy for days, The Sims 3's online features look pretty promising as well. The options to upload your creations and share them with the online community, buy new stuff in the Sims Store (for real Earth dollars, of course), create and edit your own movies, and download other custom creations should mean plenty of longevity, though ultimately it all depends on how active the community gets. In any case, the Sims 3 team's given us a plenty of reasons to keep coming back, the inevitable cavalcade of expansion packs notwithstanding.

LINX

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